1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an armrest, more particularly to an armrest that has an appealing appearance, that can be produced at a relatively low cost, and that is environmentally friendly, and the method of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a first conventional armrest 1, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,878 B1, includes a longitudinal armrest body 11, a veneer layer 12, and two decorative ribs 13. The armrest body 11 is made of a lower-quality wood material, and has a planar bottom surface 111, a top surface 113, and two opposite lateral surfaces 112 that interconnect the bottom and top surfaces 111, 113. The veneer layer 12 is made of a higher-quality wood material, and is attached to the top and lateral surfaces 113, 112 of the armrest body 11 by means of an adhesive. The decorative ribs 13 are made of high-quality wood materials, and are fixed respectively to grooves 114 in the lateral surfaces 112 of the armrest body 11 proximate to two opposite ends of the veneer layer 12.
Although the cost of the first conventional armrest 1 is relatively low, the veneer layer 12 has to be heated first so that it can be bent to follow the contour of the armrest body 11. However, heating of the veneer layer 12 is likely to destroy the grain, gloss and pores of the veneer layer 12, thereby affecting an outer appearance of the first conventional armrest 1.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, a second conventional armrest 2, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,021 B1, is shown to include an armrest body 21, a top veneer layer 22, and two lateral veneer layers 23. The armrest body 21 is made of a lower-quality wood material, extends in a longitudinal direction, and has a planar bottom surface 211, a planar top surface 212, and two lateral surfaces 213 interconnecting the bottom and top surfaces 211, 212. The top veneer layer 22 is made of a higher-quality wood material, and has a top surface 221, and a planar bottom surface 222 adhered to the top surface 212 of the armrest body 21. Each of the lateral veneer layers 23 is made of a material similar to that of the top veneer layer 22, and has a top end face 231 connected to the bottom surface 222 of the top veneer layer 22, a bottom end face 232 opposite to the top end face 231, inner side faces 233 adhered respectively to the lateral surfaces 213 of the armrest body 21, and outer side faces 234 opposite to the inner side faces 233.
The method of making the second conventional armrest 2 includes the steps of: adhering two lateral veneer blanks 230 to two opposite lateral surfaces of a longitudinal core body 210, respectively; adhering a top veneer blank 220 to a top surface of the core body 210 and top end faces of the lateral veneer blanks 230; lathing the top veneer blank 220 to form the contoured top surface 221 of the top veneer layer 22 of the armrest body 21; and, machining the lateral veneer blanks 230 to form the contoured outer side faces 234 of the lateral veneer layers 23 of the armrest body 21.
Although the second conventional armrest 2 conveys a high quality wood appearance in view of the top and lateral veneer layers 22, 23, it has the following drawbacks:
1. The top veneer layer 22 still consumes a large amount of the higher-quality wood material. Since the higher-quality wood material is expensive, the production cost of the second conventional armrest 2 is relatively high.
2. Since the consumption of the higher-quality wood material is high, the second conventional armrest 2 is not very environmentally friendly.